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Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery, the Saudi Aramco facility in Ras Tanura, has gone up in flames after being hit by an Iranian drone on Monday.
The incident prompted the closure of the facility.
The refinery, which has a processing capacity of about 550,000 barrels per day, was said to have caught fire after a section of the plant was affected during the incident.
Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry confirmed that drones launched from Iran targeted the facility. However, an official statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the drones were intercepted before they could cause major damage.
“Two drones attempting to attack the Ras Tanura refinery this morning were intercepted and destroyed,” a defense ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Reuters, citing an industry source, reported that Saudi Aramco decided to shut down operations at the refinery as a precautionary measure amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
In a related development, Qatar has reportedly halted liquefied natural gas, LNG, production. The country accounts for nearly 20 percent of global LNG supply, raising fresh concerns about potential disruptions to energy markets.
The latest developments come after Iran launched retaliatory attacks on key US allies in the region, following joint US-Israel strikes that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several senior officials.
Since Saturday, multiple countries across the Middle East have witnessed escalating hostilities, with fears growing over a broader regional conflict.
Saudi Arabia’s largest refinery burns after Iranian drone strike [VIDEO]
